Widgets, Clicks, and Tweets- Spring 2018

One company where I saw a huge social media marketing campaign was Dove. Being a very popular campaign that went viral on many platforms, Dove set out to empower women across the country with inspirational advertisements and videos by reminding them of their self-worth and importance. Featuring women of all different ages, races, and shapes, Dove was there to remind every woman that they're worth it. I feel this campaign would influence many women to purchase their products because of the sense of importance they would feel after seeing their advertisements. They pulled at the heart with many emotional scenes and interviews with this campaign and that is most likely what influenced a lot of women to purchase their products for not only themselves, but their younger daughters as well. This is definitely an effective marketing strategy that is aimed at women of all ages. I feel what Dove did with this campaign was as effective as they could be. They were interviewing real people and ...

Skender construction is one of my firm's biggest competitors when it comes to hiring talented people.  There is a definite shortage of engineers coming up in the construction ranks and Skender is working hard to recruit them all.  They recently began a social media marketing campaign for recruitment that centered around the video below: They have blasted this video on all of their social media accounts as well as updated the "Careers" section of their website.  I think this video makes potential employees much more likely to look into working at Skender.  I think the video is incredibly effective due to the young talent they are featuring, the diversity in the talent, the visually stunning video of projects they are doing as well as the interviews from current employees and lastly the music and overall production of the video envokes a feeling of emotion and confidence in their company. Their target market is definitely millennial engineers looking to s...

Recently, I’ve seen a ton of social media marketing from my favorite brand, Nike. I’m unsure whether they’ve been campaigning a specific product or not but literally anything Nike does I love, aside from the obvious hiccups they’ve faced in the past. Nike, though, has gone out of its way to create some of the most iconic branding strategy and it’s obviously work well and very much so in their favor. In the past year I’ve noticed a very specific theme, empowering women targeting, of course women. I’ve attended several events hosted by some of Chicago’s female fashion influencers, and put on by the Nike Air Society that have gone out of its way to remind women that they are passionate, strong, independent and powerful. Does this make me want to purchase their product? Absolutely yes! Nike as an athletic brand has set itself apart from others so much that its hardly ever a consideration that I’d by sneakers or gear from any other place. -HB

If you are not familiar with HQ Trivia it is a live trivia show that happens a couple of times a day and everyone can compete for real money through their app. The lure of real money, how the questions get more difficult, and the personality of the host are why people are hooked. Often times sponsors will sponsor the prize money in exchange for advertisement during the game and recognition for sponsoring the prize money. If you do not know the brand Nike somehow, they are one of the largest shoe and sportswear companies in the world. They are iconic, and the bar is high when it comes to who they partner with. The unlikely partnership seems odd at first when you think about what to the two companies have in common. I am betting its the demographical ties more than anything being that people that are playing HQ Trivia are right in Nikes sweet spot for marketing.  The prizes and the the fact that both companies promoted #AirMax day on their respective social channels...

The company that I have selected to jump aboard to evaluate for their social media marketing campaign is the Greater Chicago Food Depository - We believe no one should go hungry. Past and present campaign outlets has empowered me to get involved: “Everyone Can Take Action”. And that is just what I did, I jumped on board to help feed and develop programs that address the root cause for hunger for people of all ages and backgrounds. The social media campaign encourages everyone to get involved through volunteerism, donations and advocating. Get involved includes the youth, students, senior citizens and the veterans. The most effective social media brands are Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin also with print media (billboards on CTA buses and trains). There social media campaign encourages“Fighting Hunger One Meal at a Time, so no one goes hungry" Quite effective it points to Fighting Hunger. The target audience is everyone – youth, adults and seniors. No improvements that I coul...

A company that I see using social media to market is Chewy.com. I have used this website a handful of times for purchasing for my dog, but recently have moved away and am going to specialty stores. However, even though it has been months since I purchased from Chewy.com I still am CONSTANTLY getting ads from them all over my social media pages, as well as noticing them on television ads. Chewy.com is doing a very good job of making themselves relevant and noticed by pet owners. I think the campaign they use which is the convince of having your pet food and supplies delivered right to your door in under two days is a great campaign and definitely makes many people want to use it. The ads have cute dogs and cats enjoying all the items they received from Chewy.com and has a HUGE variety of products to chose from. I think that they are definitely hitting their target market (which is obviously people with pets!). I think that some people chose not to purchase from Chewy.com anymore because...

5.2   Recent Casualties of Social Media I have to say that I have been  interested in the two situations that have occurred over the last few weeks.  First of all, let's discuss the Starbucks issue.  Two men of color are waiting in a Starbucks for a friend to join them and they are asked to leave.  Not only are they asked to leave, they are physically removed by the police in handcuffs. The entire event is captured on the cell phones of other Starbucks patrons.  On Tuesday, 5/29, 8000 Starbucks are closed for the afternoon for bias training.  The President of Starbucks decides to tweet that the company is using this situation as a "teaching" moment.   Had it not been for social media would this have been such a momentous event?  Who can say? Then there is the Roseann Barr situation.  In my opinion, she should have been dumped when she disgraced the National Anthem at a football game several years ago.  Her tweet reg...

One of my favorite wild card reasons of attending DePaul University is the possibility of getting free Red Bull cans on a weekly basis! I’m a huge fan of this energy drink and even a bigger fan when I don’t have to pay for it. Their continuous efforts to post photos, especially the ones related to extreme sports, pack so much energy into the frame that it gets everyone excited about what’s going to happen next. I feel this marketing style is so effective because Red Bull is known for having a successful line of energy drinks, emphasis on the energy part. This connects well with the fact that all their Instagram posts showcase so much intensity and extremeness with shots of individuals biking, surfing, sky-diving and even rally-car racing. Red bull has a wide range of product to attract an array of consumers. Their main Red Bull energy drink is focused on males and females aged 16 to 30. More specifically on students, professionals, and individuals who are ambitious and go-getters....

Its summer and baseball season is here! In Chicago, as a baseball fan, you follow one of two teams, The Cubs or the White Sox. I have seen special events being hosted by the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. For example, recently I saw a billboard offering $1.00 hotdogs for attending a game on a specific night. On the White Sox Facebook Page, certain events are marketed as well. There is not a heavy social media presence for their special event game nights. I was on Facebook and Instagram and had to scroll for a long time to find any promotional events from the past. This means that their social media focuses on the game, players, and results. I think their target market is the fans and also any perspective out-of-towners looking to have a night out at the ballpark. Their social media could offer more marketing for the White Sox special events at night, especially since the game attendance rate has gone down in recent years.

The Lincoln Park Zoo is a not for profit organization that is celebrating their 150 th anniversary.   The zoo is free to the public and is in the heart of Chicago. In addition, to providing care for a variety of animals, they also have educational programs for all ages as well as a host of public/private events throughout the year.   Although the zoo receives funding from the Chicago Park District more than two-thirds is generated from sales at the zoo through their restaurants, gift shops, parking and private events.   The zoo utilizes this money to update/renovate many of the animal’s habitats and to provide educational resources to the community in order to raise awareness of the importance in caring for animal wildlife.   The Lincoln Park Zoo uses many forms of social media for marketing including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and SnapChat.   The Lincoln Park Zoo’s campaigns have included many activities that are...

 For this assignment, I am going to review how Friends of Animal Care and Control (FACC) use social media for marketing.  For those of you who don’t know, FACC is a non-profit that works with the City of Chicago animal control to find homes for the thousands of animals in the city’s very overcrowded facility as well as getting donations to help with supplies.  The FACC utilizes Facebook and Instagram most by posting photos of animals available for adoption and to get the word out about upcoming adoption events.  They also sometimes include stories about the animals and where they came from which always helps to make the posts more involved and gets people to invest more in the cause. I think this campaign does make me more likely to go to them when I am looking to adopt a pet.  Showing animals that are available keep them top of mind all the time and also shows me animals that I think would work well with my family which makes me believe they have what I a...

The company I am profiling for this assignment is Orangetheory.  The reason I wanted to use Orangetheory is because I have worked out at their West Loop location a lot and really got a lot out of the workout.  Additionally, the use social media on a local and national level and I thought that would make for an interesting profile. Orangetheory utilizes all of the social media available.  This includes Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest.  They have their national brand that utilizes all of these outlets as well as local Orangetheory gyms that also have their own accounts.  Is essence, this gives Orangetheory double the coverage in many cases.  I follow both the national account as well as my local West Loop Orangetheory social media accounts and I see postings every single day from both.  One of the most innovative ways the utilized their social media is by having all of their locations across the US play an Orangethe...

The way that Wendy's uses social media has been exciting. Wendy's does not cross my mind when I crave fast food generally when I'm out driving around. But, whoever took over its marketing is genuinely nailing it literally. On social media, the blatant disses that it makes towards other competitors makes for great entertainment which is why we are on social media in the first place. Wendy's has used social media to make them relevant again. Consumers say Wendy's when they mention: did you see that funny joke they tweeted earlier or their crazy post on billboards? I know that Wendy's has more of an older clientele but social media helps them marketable to a younger crowd now. They also market there 4 for four which is a big hit. I am very likely to purchase from Wendy's because their prices are low and the pure humor they provide. I think their efforts are effective because controversy makes money these days and they won't lose much since all consumers ha...

The truth campaign  ***Truth is a national campaign aimed at eliminating teen smoking in the United States. "truth" produces television and digital content to encourage teens to reject tobacco and to unite against the tobacco industry.*** The truth campaign used social media, commercials, and radio to push there initiative. They used social media to connect with teens, and they also have interviewed people who were severely affected by their decision to smoke. Over the past several years they've been successful with their initiative, and teen smoking is decreasing year by year. This campaign was very successful because they did a great job illustrating how bad smoking is for people. They drove home points when they talked about second-hand smoke. The campaign was effective because it kept 300,000 teens from smoking in one year. Truth understood the power of branding with teens. If teens like a brand then they are more likely to support their cause. Social media a...

Grubhub is an example of a company that advertises across all platforms. They have the largest following on Twitter with 208k followers, while on Instagram they have about 39.5k followers. On Twitter, their tweets are more comedic- they typically tweet memes or participate in other running jokes formed on the internet. On Instagram they post pictures of meals, highlighting different restaurants around the country. They also use Instagram stories, often creating polls and other ways to encourage engagement from followers. Besides social media, Grubhub also has train advertisements. If you are ever downtown (specifically the Chicago stop on the redline) they have a giant, moving sushi roll located on top of the redline entrance. I believe their advertising is effective, since it is typically witty and creative without being corny. In my opinion, this makes them stand out from other food delivering services. I believe that their target audience consists of college students, as well as adu...

Brad Anderson Most recently, I have been receiving many advertisements for Native, a natural aluminum and paraben free deodorant. I am currently an active user of this deodorant and visit their site when I need to order a new stick of deodorant. Although I am currently filled up on my supply, I have been seeing many advertisements with new summer scents and promotion codes to receive a free travel size deodorant. Although I currently do not need more, these advertisements often times get me to think twice because my girlfriend or I may want to try a new scent before the season is over or capitalize on the free travel size container since we are frequent travelers. I believe the target market for these advertisements are folks that have recently visited the site or similar sites, such as Whole Food or Toms of Maine. I think Native's current marketing campaign is effective but could be more effective if they began advertisements about three months after somebody has already made ...

Big Sean has recently released his latest collaboration though not with another trendy artist, but with PUMA. PUMA has been in the game for countless decades, generating sales from clothing and shoes, but over the recent years, they have began partnering with famous celebrities more and more. Part of the reason is for their high user following on social media platforms, such as instagram and snapchat. If you follow celebrities like Big Sean or Rhianna on instagram, you can see their latest releases with PUMA and follow the inspiration behind the design. More importantly, PUMA has been more actively on social media than in years past, proving it is working. Without social media I personally would have never known about the new line nor been inclined to purchase. But, being a fan of Big Sean, I actually went to check out the line and explored PUMA's website. Rhianna is doing something similar as well as she attracts users to her line. Without famous celebrities, PUMA might've bee...

As nearly every girl knows Fenty Beauty has had so much media attention since its release back in September and as a true supporter of nearly every thing Rihanna puts her hands on I watched as this beauty campaign grew. Social media marketing for Fenty Beauty all began with the creation of its Instagram back in March. I was one of the first few thousand to follow and from there the brand took on a life of its own. The line itself got so much craze because the foundations screamed “inclusivity and diversity” with 40 different shades to offer and the brand message essentially embodied the same concept on social media. Visually every photograph and video is edited to perfection making a visually stunning advertisement that I think grasps people and makes them want for more. It’s what people call “instagrammable.” Given the success of the beauty brand I would say that social media marketing in this case was well worth it and very effective. The page alone has nearly 3.8 million f...

A Campaign can help with the product or service it sells. Thinking of a posting that caught my eye was the attempt of ending hunger.  To summarize the posting it states, the kids have no idea that the parents haven’t eaten in 3 days. End hunger by going to this website. This campaign was very appealing as it made me think what I could contribute. The target market for this campaign was for everyone to see. It being uniquely displayed on the bus terminal was for all passerby’s and general audience to see. I believe this was the best level of success in being effective.

JUUL I've seen advertising for JUUL online on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter and on delivery apps, seemingly targeted towards young adults and college students, that sell convenience store items like toilet paper, paper towels, and alcohol. Notably, these apps also advertise JUUL's and their accompanying pods as quick-adds to a consumer's cart. The JUUL itself is a sleek, small, easy-to-use product, which perhaps explains why it has become so prevalent amongst teenagers, students on college campuses, and young adults. The pods come in a variety of flavors, and the product's young users have become synonymous with the idea of a "cool kid" vaping around campus. However, the campaigns often focus on the idea that the vaporized e-cigarette is "safer" than traditional cigarettes and function as a mechanism for former smokers to quit their addiction to nicotine. That being said, many reports indicate that the vaporizer has had the oppo...